


PEACH.

by petitseok



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Caregiver!Joshua, M/M, Non-Sexual Age Play, Regressor!Seokmin, excessive comparisons of seok to sunshine and fruit, lapslock, seok is a v good boy, seoksoo having a nice day out, soonchan are mentioned throughout lol
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-18
Updated: 2020-02-26
Packaged: 2021-02-27 20:53:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,207
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22782073
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/petitseok/pseuds/petitseok
Summary: more than anything, joshua wanted to swaddle him and hold him until he felt better, but he knew he had to let seokmin work this out on his own.“do you promise?” he breathed. “you have to promise.”joshua didn’t waver. “i promise.”
Relationships: Hong Jisoo | Joshua/Lee Seokmin | DK
Comments: 5
Kudos: 103





	1. the first part

**Author's Note:**

> happy birthday seokmin and vernon!!!
> 
> i didn't have anything planned for today, but i _happened_ to finish at least part of this fic i've had for weeks, so it's a birthday gift,, 
> 
> since i finished this quickly, there might be some errors. i might edit this later and i'll indicate it if i do.

joshua woke up with the sun in his eyes.

he wasn’t sure if seokmin counted, but he’d like to think so with the way his skin glowed under the light, a trail of faint freckles under his eyes illuminated by the sun.  _ pretty, _ he thought, resisting the urge to trace the little spots.

instead, joshua threaded his fingers into the burning auburn strands of his hair, brushing back seokmin’s bedhead. his heart warmed as the younger wiggled closer, smushing his cheek into joshua’s chest. 

_ cutest little peach, _ he cooed internally. seokmin was easily the brightest thing in joshua’s life, even when snoring softly against him and drooling on his shirt. to him, he was precious.

but no matter what— no matter how many times he felt down, how many times he cried and apologized and dropped into headspace— joshua would still be by seokmin’s side because he loved him.

he was everything joshua could ask for and more. his sun, his moon, and his stars. 

so, he let his sunshine sleep a little more, holding him and rubbing his back. the action kept seokmin relaxed while the touch gradually woke him up.

there was nothing better than the security of being in someone’s arms. the feeling of seokmin curling around him, happy and content in slumber, was more than enough to satisfy joshua.

when seokmin’s bleary gaze focused on joshua, the older could see the first inklings of consciousness surfacing. the younger stretched a little, his hands gliding up joshua's body, clumsily coming to rest at the side of his face and rub his thumb over his cheek.

he garnered enough leverage to pull him closer until their noses and foreheads were touching, and joshua delighted in seokmin's smile. the younger yawned in his face, but joshua still thought it cute.

"my baby's still tired, isn't he?" he whispered. he watched as seokmin's gaze became a little more hazy than it already was.

though it looked like he wanted to say something, he cut himself off with a high whine. what distracted joshua was that it didn't sound like a plea for him to stop teasing him and that it was more like a plea for him to  _ continue _ babying him.

the thought of seokmin waking up in his headspace struck joshua, and he sat up a little, if only to study the way seokmin reacted. 

the younger responded immediately, sliding up with him. his leg wrapped around joshua's to keep him in place, craning his head upwards to nose at his collarbone left exposed by his shirt, letting out another pitiful sound in the process. 

it was obvious to joshua: he had a little on his hands. at least, he thought he did.

"'minnie, sweetheart." sekomin hummed. "are you feeling small?"

the shy tremor in his reply counteracted what he was trying to say. "'m okay. promise."

joshua knew that seokmin knew himself better than anyone, but he could also tell the difference between seokmin when he was sleepy and seokmin when he was sleepy and regressing. even though he was just woken up, he was suspiciously quiet to be big.

"look at me, baby," joshua told him, and although seokmin would have obeyed, he still guided his chin until he was staring up at him with those wide, sparkling eyes. "you'll tell me if you're little, right?"

seokmin nodded without hesitation, "i will. i really will." his eyebrows raised when joshua smiled, "what?"

"you're just really cute. _ my little peach." _

"you're not  _ helping _ ," seokmin complained. "that's not fair!"

“it’s just the truth,” joshua insisted. he let go to trail his fingers across the expanse of light, peach-colored fabric stretching across his back. “i tell you that all the time.”

seokmin was a little distracted when he hummed, settling back against the older. it was like he’s afraid of admitting how he felt, and that was the last thing joshua wanted. 

as his friend, partner, and caregiver, joshua did all he could to maintain seokmin’s comfort and keep him safe. being able to listen was his most valuable asset.

it was hard to do that when seokmin didn’t cooperate.

the promise seokmin made him was enough to keep joshua complacent. but he did not expect seokmin to stay big, so he decided to treat him as if he had regressed. 

(either way, it would end in the same result.)

“hungry?” joshua asked. “there’s plenty of fruit in the kitchen...” he pretended to think. “your favorites... does that sound good?”

when seokmin nodded, the other reached around to tap his lips.  _ use your words _ . “yes please.”

“come on, sweetie,” he persuaded. the couple slipped from bed, seokmin gravitating towards joshua’s side and taking his hand. leading him through the house, the older was happy to oblige him. 

“do we have watermelon, joshie? or bananas!” seokmin sat at their kitchen counter and smiled as joshua began moving around. “can i have apple slices, pretty please?”

he was always so polite, never wanting to cause a fuss. what he wanted was to be treated carefully, and seokmin understood that it was hard for someone to do that if he was bratty or bossy. it was something joshua discovered quickly after he started regressing. 

“it’ll be a surprise,” joshua decided, already taking out the container of watermelon from the day before. he popped two pieces of toast in the toaster and split a banana between them, dishing out a couple pieces of watermelon for each of them. 

in the end, seokmin was very pleased with the surprise. when joshua sat next to him and gave him his breakfast, he smiled and mumbled a shy, “thank you, daddy.”

the older smiled to himself. he knew seokmin would start regressing at some point if he hadn’t already when he’d woken up. 

while the younger was munching on his toast, joshua glanced at him, “are you feeling little?” his answer shouldn’t have been anything except  _ yes _ , but seokmin still hesitated. “use your words, peach. i can’t understand you otherwise.”

it encourages the little to nod, and then, “a bit.” he went back to eating. joshua hated to see him so quiet. usually, seokmin was more bubbly, but something was weighing on him. he was afraid that he didn’t want to regress and that it was stressing him out.

seokmin always said he was afraid of being a burden. it frustrated joshua because he  _ never _ thought of him like that and genuinely enjoyed doing things for him. it was the love that seokmin deserved. 

“it’s okay, baby. you can regress if you need to,” joshua inserted. “it wouldn’t ruin any kind of plan i had for today. i just need to get a few things from the store today, and you can come with me. it’ll be fun going out!”

for a suspended moment, seokmin stared at him as if looking for a lie. when joshua turned his head to meet his gaze, his eyes were glassy, pooling with tears and  _ so _ much hope. more than anything, joshua wanted to swaddle him and hold him until he felt better, but he knew he had to let seokmin work this out on his own.

“do you promise?” he breathed. “you have to promise.”

joshua didn’t waver. “i promise.”

that’s when the eye contact broke and seokmin looked at his plate, picking up a banana slice and sniffing away his tears. joshua saw his shoulders sag with a release of tension, his whole demeanor curling inwards to appear  _ smaller _ .

this was letting go.  _ this _ was what seokmin needed; he needed to relax, to surrender his responsibilities, and to rest. joshua could help. joshua  _ would _ help.

“can i wear your shirt, daddy?” the little said suddenly. he seemed to brush off his previous feelings so that he could enjoy the rest of his day. “the blue one with the li’le clouds?”

amused, the caregiver brushed his hair back once, “of course, baby, just finish your food first.”

with his favorite sweatshirt as motivation, seokmin quickly finished his breakfast, even putting away his and joshua’s plates. unfortunately, the wait was prolonged when joshua announced he was going to make tea. 

it lead to seokmin sitting on the kitchen floor with a sippy cup of ice water, babbling aimlessly and nudging his caregiver’s legs while they waited for the leaves to steep. he just wanted to wear daddy’s sweatshirt! the sooner he got dressed, the sooner he could  _ play _ .

but joshua needed his tea, and seokmin knew that. he tugged on his pajama pant leg, “what tea are you making?”

the shuffling of a box, then, “pear. it’s not as bitter as some others. i like this one a lot.”

“coffee is bitter, right? and gross. bitter is not yummy. tea should always be sweet, right daddy?”

“i don’t know, kiddo, some people like it without adding anything to it. it’s not naturally sweet.” the tea was ready. seokmin could hear him pouring it. the clunking of the sugar box came next, and then the opening and closing of the fridge for milk. 

“it should be,” seokmin grumbled. how long did tea  _ take? _ “i want to change so i can go to the store with daddy. what are you gonna get? can we get more fruit, please?”

finally, joshua was finished. he turned around with his mug, urging seokmin to walk to the bedroom with his foot. “we can’t get any more, peach, we already have a lot.”

seokmin scrambled up and dashed away. upon entering their bedroom, he planted himself on the bed and waited for joshua to catch up. “then we don’t need anything else! only fruit and sweets.”

setting down his mug on their dresser, joshua chuckled, “no, that’s not how it works. We’re actually running low on tea and i need more.” he pulled out one of the drawers. “plus,” he continued. “we need to find a small gift for chan and soonyoung. you remember them.”

“uncle soonie gave me a tiger!” the little cried in realization. “he gave me a stuffed animal, and uncle chan let me have cookies from the store. i remember! we should give them a stuffed animal back.”

joshua pulled out the sweatshirt seokmin requested and unfolded it, “we’ll see, baby. maybe something different. we’re going to go see them, tomorrow.” 

without having to be asked, the younger lifted his arms up and let joshua switch his shirts. wearing his caregiver’s clothing made seokmin happy and bubbly inside. he clapped his hands when he was done. 

joshua managed to work him into a pair of shorts and matching blue socks before brushing out his hair and making sure he didn’t choke on his toothbrush while brushing his teeth. although joshua was more than willing to help him with little tasks, he was thankful seokmin was capable of things like that. 

“i wanna pick uncles’ present!” seokmin yelled. he slid into the entryway on his socks and plopped noisily on the floor to pull on his shoes. joshua had to gulp the rest of his drink to keep up with him, pulling on his flannel and hopping into a pair of jeans before the little’s insistent calls of “daddy, daddy, daddy!” rose any higher in volume.

“i’m coming, ‘minnie,” he soothed, crouching down to tie seokmin’s shoelaces. he bounced up once he was finished, but joshua stopped him from opening the door with a sharp, “don’t you dare,” that warned him about getting carried away.

soon, they were out the door. joshua drove them out to the store, letting seokmin fidget in his seat and sing along to the children’s music on the radio. when they arrived, he looked at his little before turning the car off. 

“i promised you come with me,” he said. “but you have to promise to behave, okay? you  _ have _ to stay with daddy and you  _ have _ to use your inside voice. okay, peach?”

seokmin nodded urgently. joshua tapped his lips. “yes, daddy.”

they ended up in the drink aisle, the little glued to joshua’s side as he swayed the shopping basket back and forth. he couldn’t tell what all the labels meant, but he like the smell of herbs and fruit and coffee. it reminded him of joshua. joshua felt safe. 

“do you want to try one?” the older chimed in, leaning over to toss a box of black tea in the basket. “pick one and i’ll get it.”

“i don’t know what they mean,” seokmin sighed. “ _ you _ pick one.” he liked tea when he was big, and joshua knew which kinds he preferred. he usually gravitated towards fruit flavors.

joshua gasped, drawing seokmin’s attention to the pink tin near the top. “ _ look _ , baby, they have peach tea! it’s just like you, isn’t it?  _ sweet _ . you like this kind, don’t you?” the little was too busy blushing to answer as the older reached for it, placing it in the basket. “you’ll love it,” he promised, bringing him closer to kiss his cheek. 

from there, the two wandered through the store, not finding much that would make— as joshua insisted— a good housewarming gift. seokmin learned that his uncles had moved into a new apartment and that was why they were going to visit. he didn’t know what would make a good gift to celebrate that.

everyone liked stuffed animals though, right? if soonyoung gave him one, surely he wouldn’t mind receiving one… seokmin thought it was an excellent gift idea. his caregiver was reluctant and begged him to look at something else, so seokmin tried to find other things. 

even after each of them had picked up a small succulent, seokmin still couldn’t take his eyes off the plush duck he had looked at previously. he thought his uncles would love it, and he was sure that he was right. his caregiver just didn’t  _ understand _ . 

joshua noticed his hesitation and relented. the grateful hug he received in return assured him that their friends would appreciate the gift no matter what it was. he realized that he could soonyoung a rock and he would still thank them for it. 

on the way out of the store, seokmin insisted on carrying the plants and duck, cradling them in his arms until they arrived back at their home. even then, he set them carefully on the kitchen counter, patting the duck’s head and smiling. 

“daddy, are you proud of me?” he beamed. “i got them home all by myself!” 

“you did!” joshua praised, ruffling the little’s hair. “you did such a good job, i  _ am _ proud of you.”

seokmin blossomed under the compliment, wiggling his shoulders in glee. that was all he ever wanted, to make people proud of him. he wanted to be good; wanted to be sweet and helpful and cute. 

with joshua, he was all those things and more. to joshua, seokmin was his little sunbeam, his peach. he was  _ his _ .

that was all seokmin could think about as he chewed carefully on the mouthpiece of his sippy cup, the last bits of water dribbling of his mouth and onto his hand. it was messy, but he was too busy concentrating on his caregiver to care. he was  _ joshua’s _ .

the older noticed his state and chided him for chewing the plastic, wetting a paper towel to clean him up. “my little boy is so messy, isn’t he?” he cooed. “what am i going to do with you?”

joshua  _ booped _ the tip of seokmin’s nose, and the younger broke into a radiant smile, shying away from the playful touch. “daddy,” he whined. “wanna play.  _ trucks. _ ”

“you want to play with your cars?” joshua inferred. “okay. let me get you some more water, and then we can do whatever you like.” he smiled and brushed the hair from seokmin’s forehead so he could plant a kiss there. “anything for my little peach.”


	2. the second part

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> kachow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> not proofread/edited

_ “treat him gently,”  _ soonyoung had warned him three weeks into their relationship.  _ “when he’s little, you're like a king. if you’re kind and firm, the people prosper, but if you’re strict and impatient, the people suffer and revolt.” _

joshua remembered teasing his friend for suddenly becoming so wise, but chan was quick to assure him that soonyoung was telling the truth.

_ “i’ve never seen you become angry, and i fear the day that i do. seokmin loves you more than anything else. if you hurt him, then i will hurt you.” _

he still thought of the threat when he was taking care of seokmin, another reminder that  _ this was the one he loved _ and that he needed to take care of him. 

he still thought of it even as seokmin shoved the back end of his toy car into his mouth distractedly. it didn’t stop him from pushing a second toy around with his free hand, laying on the floor of their living room. 

looking up from his book, joshua pried the object from his little’s mouth, chuckling when the younger grabbed for it. before he gave it back, he gave seokmin his cup and let him suck on it.

they hadn’t invested in a pacifier because seokmin said that he didn’t need one, but as the months wore on and he seemed to be putting more and more of his things in his mouth when he regressed, joshua was starting to think that i  _ was _ something they should think about.

after all, he couldn’t let him chew up his sippy cup tops or shirt sleeves, and he  _ definitely _ couldn’t have him putting germ-ridden, choking-hazard toys in his mouth.

in the end, seokmin drooled over his cup despite joshua’s occasional reminder to be careful. it seemed like he was losing control over it, like a toddler who hadn’t quite gotten his teeth.

“at this rate, i’m going to need to wash your face,” joshua mused. 

seokmin’s mouth detached itself from the top. he hadn’t processed a thing his caregiver said and continued to push around his truck, imitating the noise as it pushed down a tower of blocks. 

he pushed them together into a pile until he felt satisfied with their arrangement. then, he looked at joshua expectantly, and the older set his book aside to play with him.

he carefully stacked the blocks up, managing four on top of one another before seokmin sent the thing crashing to the carpeted floor with a giggle. repeating the process kept the little entertained for some time before he got distracted again.

when he did, he rolled over and laid his head in joshua’s lap, allowing him to comb his fingers through his hair. lunchtime was quickly approaching, and joshua didn’t have a plan for seokmin. 

he decided he could make something quickly. there were other leftovers in the fridge that would taste good, and he could make some rice. 

it proved to be a challenge with seokmin at his heels, waiting patiently on the floor like he did that morning. like a cat waiting for food in the kitchen, he became a tripping hazard at times, but joshua was careful with his steps.

“are we having lunch, daddy?” the little wondered. “apple slices?” 

joshua hummed, “you can have apple slices if you eat everything else. all your meat and vegetables.”

“okay!” he agreed easily. “i want a-apples!” 

from there, seokmin entertained himself while waiting for his food, usually making more truck noises even though his caregiver had told him to put his toys away. 

joshua looked down to see him sitting against the cabinets holding his sippy cup. “what are you doing, baby?” 

“daddy, ‘m driving a truck.”

“are you?” he smiled, now plating seokmin’s lunch. “that’s really cool. can you hand me your cup?”

with his little’s cup refilled and his meal set out, joshua plucked seokmin off the floor— with great difficulty— and deposited him onto the bar stool. “eat up, my little peach.”

unfortunately, joshua seemed to forget that seokmin’s fine motor skills lacked certain  _ quality _ when he was little. using his silverware was a challenge like this, and it took an incident of dropping his piece of meat for joshua to remember that.

“oh— let me help, baby, give me your spoon.” he fed seokmin bites of his food while eating his own. 

the younger giggled and happily accepted everything presented to him. soon enough, he earned his apple slices and ate those too as joshua tidied the kitchen.

by the time they were finished, seokmin began to nod off in his seat, his chin resting on his palm. “baby, wake up,” joshua murmured, pulling the younger towards the bathroom so that he could wash him up before letting him sleep.

seokmin followed blindly with a tight grip on joshua’s sleeve. his caregiver smiled as he cleaned his face with a towel, swiping the cloth under his eyes and then over his lip. while he did, seokmin close his eyes, swaying as he began to fall asleep. 

once it was over, they settled in their bedroom. joshua retrieved his book and seokmin laid his head in his lap as he napped, his caregiver running his fingers through his hair to comfort him.

they were both content with the simple comfort of taking care of each other like this. it helped in tremendous ways that neither of them could comprehend, but they knew they loved each other, and it was more than enough. 

joshua read his book and waited for seokmin to wake up again, pausing occasionally to glance down at his sleeping peach. he looked so peaceful when he slept, the worry lines in his face smoothed out. joshua wished it could always be like that so that seokmin didn’t have to be anxious anymore. 

the closest he could ever get to that dream was when seokmin was little. he didn’t have to think, then, and he was always so happy, even when it came to the smallest things.

_ “i’ve never seen him as happy as he is when he’s with you,” _ chan told him.  _ “you really mean something to him. soonyoung could never be the kind of permanent presence that he needs. you’re good at that, you know.” _

he hadn’t known. taking care of seokmin came naturally to him long before they decided to date, and he never even thought about how  _ good _ he had been at it until soonyoung and chan  _ told him _ after seokmin regressed with the three of them. 

joshua was glad it worked out. he was glad to have seokmin as a friend. a little. a boyfriend. 

when seokmin woke, he was ready to throw himself back in action, still as deep in his headspace as ever. the couple ended up sprawled on their living room floor in a tangle of limbs while they watched  _ cars _ .

every other time mater said something, seokmin laughed, enjoying his accent that he found humorous. when lightning mcqueen would race, he imitated the sounds of racing cars. between these things, he still babbled at the screen and pointed things out to joshua who had already seen the movie far too many times in his life. 

“green!” he shouted at chick, vibrating with the excitement of recognizing another color. he did the same for the dinoco car, added an enthused “dino!” for good measure. he mooed with the tractors, asked joshua questions about the plot that would have been answered had he paid attention to the movie properly.

still, joshua didn’t care, and he laughed along with him. he encouraged his little boy every time he pointed something out correctly and mimicked his reactions. the credits rolled by and they applauded the happy ending together. 

from there, the afternoon went on playfully as the two continued to play. inspired by the movie, seokmin insisted on make-believing cars with his caregiver, which proved to be a challenge, but not an impossible one when it came to little seokmin’s imagination.

“daddy’s good at this because he can drive for real,” he mused. joshua chuckled. seokmin could drive as well, but only when he was big. of course, that didn’t matter to him when he was little. “are you a racer like in  _ cars?” _

“i can be. do  _ you _ want to be one? you can if you want to, even if you can’t drive for real.”

he takes to the idea immediately, “okay! i bet i can beat you!” he leapt up and bounded off, and joshua had no choice but to follow, not only to try and beat him, but also to make sure he didn’t hurt himself accidentally.

seokmin made a loop in the kitchen and slid into the hallway, nearly screaming when joshua almost caught up to him. he made it to their room and shut the door behind him, throwing his body to keep it closed as joshua tried to enter. 

(and although he would always see himself as a responsible adult, they were more like siblings in the moment, roughhousing with each other to satisfy their competitiveness.)

this lead to the older succeeding, sweeping seokmin off the floor before he could fall and depositing him on the bed. both collapse in a giggling mess before lying there in bliss.

_ “he deserves someone like you,” _ soonyoung had whispered.  _ “he deserves someone as caring as you. treat him well.” _

and he did. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so far, this is the ending for this one!! 4,000 words was my main goal for this work. if i want to add something else, i'll add another chapter lol.
> 
> hope this is enjoyable! it ended up being a little different from the first part, but i actually like soonyoung and chan butting in every once in awhile. it feels like they're giving us hints about seokmin.
> 
> thank you for reading!!

**Author's Note:**

> nothing like a little slice of life to calm down with,,,


End file.
